


Jasper

by Miso



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Babies, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Male Character, the weird thing is i dont even like kids i just like making up kids for my ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 06:19:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18544027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miso/pseuds/Miso
Summary: Self-indulgent fluff about Hosea, Dutch, and welcoming a new life into the world.





	Jasper

Eight months, eleven days, and approximately 4 hours, give or take. Hosea had been counting since he and Dutch realized the bouts of nausea and vomiting in the mornings weren't caused by Pearson's cooking, since they realized the sudden, gentle rounding of his stomach wasn't the result of weight gain from stress (though a few gentle teases about Dutch's tendency to sugar-binge when under pressure were still given), since they realized at the same time that they were going to be parents.

Not that they weren't already, in a way. John and Arthur were their sons, always were and always would be, but this was their first biological child. They spent hours agonizing over how they'd tell the gang. It wasn't like they could keep it a secret forever, anyway; sooner or later that subtle growth would be a very obvious and visible baby belly.

Eventually, they settled on telling Uncle, who they knew would blurt it out unintentionally over a campfire and a few bottles of booze sooner or later. He did not disappoint. Hosea, up late one night after Dutch had gone to bed, overheard it. A boisterous laugh, followed by _"Y'all better get used to all this noise, when Dutch has his baby none of you are gonna be sleepin'!"_

Dutch, on the other hand, knew the cat was out of the bag when Arthur, Grimshaw, Tilly, and John all approached him in sequence one morning asking when the hell he was planning on telling them, and why he let Uncle do his dirty work for him, something he never seemed willing to do before. In response, he had simply shrugged and said, "Well, I figured it'd be the easiest way to tell everyone."

Once the gang knew about Dutch's pregnancy, the air in camp palpably changed. Gone was the lingering animosity and tension, faded into the cool air of Horseshoe Overlook. The anger was replaced by a low buzz of excitement. Javier opened a betting pool on whether the newborn would be a boy or a girl, while the girls set to knitting clothes and sewing little dresses. Abigail even found what she could of Jack's old baby clothes, offering them to Dutch with a smile, saying "And if you ever just needta complain, I know what you're dealin' with. I'm here if you wanna talk."

He never really took her up on that offer. Truth be told, he enjoyed the experience when the morning sickness went away and he grew used to being exhausted on a regular basis, even when he hadn't done much. There was something magical about feeling the baby roll, turn and kick inside him, and watching as his stomach steadily grew into a well-rounded bump. Hosea insisted on reading to the baby as often as he could, "borrowing" Jack's penny dreadful novellas and deeply amusing Dutch as he put on voices for every character and threw more emotion into his reading than he ever had before, as though the developing infant could hear him and thought their father was being entertaining. As silly as the spectacle was, though, Dutch had to admit it was charming. He hadn't seen Hosea this excited about anything in what felt like years, and here he was, abuzz with anticipation and worry at the same time.

The baby's name was decided on quickly. Whether girl or boy, the little one would be dubbed Jasper Rowan Matthews. There were a few murmurs from a couple gang members, but no one voiced their concerns aloud, and eventually the matter seemed forgotten altogether.

Hosea came to love waking up early in the morning, while Dutch was still asleep, and speaking to Jasper. He'd press kisses to Dutch's belly and whisper to their baby, introducing himself and telling his offspring how excited he was to meet them. More often than not, this ended in Hosea getting punched or kicked in the face or chin by the baby, Dutch cracking up laughing (as desperately as he tried not to give away that he was awake), and Hosea finishing his sentimental rambling with "Listen, you little shit-" followed by something about how the kid better learn to respect their father and quit acting like a turd before it was even born.

Pearson's stew not settling well in the gang's stomachs wasn't too uncommon of an occurrence. As such, neither Dutch nor Hosea thought anything of the cramps the former began experiencing a few hours after dinner, figuring a combination of the camp cook's questionable skill, possibly-undercooked wild game, the uncomfortably muggy and hot midsummer weather after the gang's move to Lemoyne, and being full-term were just working against Dutch's body. Dutch went on to bed early, figuring he could sleep off the discomfort and carry on with his life in the morning.

He woke in the dead of night to find he was very, very wrong. The cramps had only worsened, and were steadily becoming more regular. Still not thinking much of it, he awkwardly heaved himself out of bed, feeling a bit like a turtle stuck on its back, and managed to waddle his way to a tree near the edge of the lake, hoping that maybe a little fresh air would help.

Hosea jolted awake to Dutch shaking him by the shoulder. With a snort and a gasp, he heaved himself out of bed, groaning. "Dearest," he began with a yawn, "It's not even daylight yet, what's-"

"It's the baby, Hosea."

Hosea paled and seemed immediately more awake. "Is... is everything okay?" he asked weakly, gently stroking a curl of hair back from Dutch's face. "You're-"

"I..." A pause to wince, grit his teeth, and dig his nails into his palms to get through a contraction. "Fuck. I think it's time."

Hosea swore he was about to faint as he eased Dutch down onto the bed. "Okay. Okay, uh, l-let me get-"

"No. Don't get anyone yet." Dutch gripped Hosea's hand, giving it a squeeze and pulling him in close. "I... I want you right now, okay? Later, we'll... we'll get the women, see if they can-" Dutch paused, groaned softly, nuzzled into Hosea's palm. "Shit... help me. When... when it's closer to... y'know. Go time."

"It's not _go time_ now?"

"I ain't no expert but I don't think that's how it works." Dutch winced. "Takes... a few hours. Just... stay with me."

That was the single longest night of Hosea's life. He sat up with Dutch, rubbing his back and easing him through each spike of pain with gentle reassurance. "You got this, dearest," he whispered, rubbing soft circles over Dutch's shoulder blades. "You got this. Gonna do great."

As the sun rose over the horizon and their baby wasn't in their arms just yet, Hosea forced himself to remain calm. _A few hours? It's been more than a few. Something isn't right,_ he thought, but took a deep breath and maintained his controlled exterior. Dutch, by this point reduced to a panting wreck in bed, trembling with pain and exhaustion, looked up at his partner. "I... i-is somethin' wrong, do you think?"

"I don't know, big cat," Hosea admitted, smoothing Dutch's hair and squeezing his hand. "I don't know what I'm doin' any more than you do. You feel... different?"

Dutch shook his head. "Hurts more. And more often. But... I-I don't feel like I need to push. Isn't there pushing involved at some point?"

"I always thought so. Should... should I get the girls?"

"M-maybe."

Within 20 minutes, Hosea found himself ushered out of his and Dutch's tent by Susan, Mary-Beth, and Tilly, and sat on Arthur's cot. "I don't understand," he began, lighting a cigarette with a shaky hand, "He wanted me there with him. Why'd they-"

"Did... you hear Susan?" Arthur asked, furrowing his brow a little. "You were in the goddamn way. They need room to work." A pause for a yelp of pain from the main tent and a distant _"Get your goddamn hand out of me, Miss Grimshaw!"_ , before Arthur shrugged and stood. "C'mon. Maybe it'd do you some good to take a walk. Get away from all this for a little bit."

"I ain't leaving this camp for nothin', Arthur." Hosea took a long drag from his cigarette, his leg bouncing as his nerves refused to calm. "You know that as well as I do. Not until I know what's going on."

And leave he didn't. Hosea moved from spot to spot, from Arthur's cot to the campfire to the dominoes table, but he was always nearby. Chain smoking and pacing and trying to distract himself by counting the knots in the wood of the table. He winced and felt every piece of him practically beg to go to Dutch every time he heard something particularly upsetting from the tent- "Dutch, I need you to use less of your breath for yellin' and more of it for pushin'," and "Miss Jackson, will you get him somethin' to bite down on before I rip his damn head off?!" were among the more notable ones- but he stayed put. Karen and Abigail kept him company, as did some of the other men. Karen handed him cups of coffee as long as he kept accepting them. Abigail delivered updates between the women in the tent and Hosea, though most of them amounted to "He's driving them all insane and Grimshaw's ready to kill him." Arthur tried to distract him with a game of dominoes, and Lenny had him read the newspaper aloud to give his mind something to concentrate on besides Dutch.

Dusk was settling in when the tent went largely silent. By this point Hosea was busy pacing the length of the shore, skipping stones and sitting with his feet in the water and his head in his hands on the rickety dock. Arthur was the one to overhear the baby's first wails, followed by overlapping excited chatter. "Oh, Dutch," he heard Tilly say, her voice breaking, "you did so good!"

Susan was the one to exit the tent, though, wiping her hands and taking a deep breath. "Well, we made it. He's alive, despite my best efforts. Baby's healthy."

"... What is it?" Arthur asked, his voice a whisper to Susan. She smiled, leaned up and whispered the answer into his ear, the rest of the gang staring and eagerly awaiting his excited repetition. It never came. He just smiled, nodded, and walked toward where Hosea was sitting. "Hosea?"

"... What?"

"Your baby's here."

Arthur hadn't seen Hosea move that fast in years. He sprinted back to the tent, leaving his boots and socks abandoned by the dock, not minding the rocks and sand and grass sticking his feet. He practically skidded to a stop outside the tent, glancing to Grimshaw. "C-can I...?"

"Of course. Wouldn't have had Arthur get you if you couldn't."

Hosea's hands were shaking and his knees felt weak as he entered the tent. Dutch glanced up from the bundle in his arms, visibly exhausted, and hair stuck every which-way to his face and neck with sweat. Still, though, Hosea had never seen him more beautiful than he was in that moment. "Dutch..." he whispered, stepping closer. Ignoring Mary-Beth and Tilly's teary-eyed smiles, he sat down beside his lover, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Hosea," Dutch whispered, gently shifting the little blanket-wrapped bundle held to his chest, "c'mere. Meet Jasper."

The baby was absolutely perfect. A head of dark curls, just like Dutch's, with deep brown eyes and his sharp nose, but with chubby little cheeks. "Dutch... what is it?"

"Our baby, you dumbass."

"What? No, I mean... boy, girl...?"

"Ohhh." Dutch smiled, leaned in, whispered the answer into Hosea's ear as Grimshaw had done with Arthur earlier. Hosea felt himself choke up with tears in his eyes, nodding for lack of words to say.

A brief commotion outside the tent got his attention. "Can... can I tell 'em, dearest?"

A silent nod. Hosea stood, exited the tent, cleared his throat almost theatrically for the crowd of nervously quiet gang members.

"It's a girl."

The camp exploded into cheers as Hosea vanished back into the tent, settling down beside Dutch and wrapping an arm around his shoulders to admire their daughter. "Girls," he said to Mary-Beth and Tilly, "Could we have some time, please?"

A beat of silence passed once the family was alone, Hosea gently teasing his fingertip into the palm of Jasper's hand and smiling when she gripped it tight once she was finished with her first meal, a moment Dutch insisted Hosea stay for. "She's so small," he whispered, in the most awestruck tone. "She's... she's perfect, Dutch."

"Mmm." Dutch's responses weren't too eloquent, but he was aglow with pride all the same. He rested his head on Hosea's shoulder. "M'tired."

"I bet. You just spent... what, sixteen hours having a baby?"

"Mm. Only two of that was actually gettin' her out..." His eyelids growing heavier by the second, though, he looked up at Hosea. "Wanna hold her a while?"

"Please..."

Gently transferring their daughter to Hosea (with a soft 'watch her head'), Dutch was out like a light in mere minutes. Hosea couldn't take his eyes off of Jasper, who snuggled into her father's chest and let out the world's tiniest yawn.

"... You're perfect," he whispered to her, gently stroking a thumb over her soft little cheek. He sat down on the crate-turned-chair with Jasper, rocking her softly, taking her little hand and musing _how is this a human hand_ to himself in a whisper. She was so tiny, so delicate. For the first time in years, he felt like a protector. "I'll never let anything happen to you," he breathed, pressing a gentle kiss to Jasper's forehead. "Promise."

As she dozed off, Hosea swore he saw Jasper smile, while the sounds of laughter and cheering resonated through the camp outside.

**Author's Note:**

> its 3 am ive been writing for like six hours straight
> 
> ANYWAY!!!! yall know wyatt but this is jasper. she's dutch and hosea's bio daughter [no, there's no weird mpreg stuff happening here, dutch is trans]. i know jasper is a traditionally masculine name but lbr here dutch wouldnt give one iota of a shit about giving a girl a boy's name or vice versa. idk if im gonna write more with her or not but i might as soon as i decide how she'd fit into the canon if she were really part of the game ;3


End file.
